British Grand Prix

Construction work at the circuit has caused races to be cancelled or postponed, track owner Tom Wheatcroft is demanding millions in unpaid rent from race organiser Simon Gillett, and few details have emerged concerning how the circuit upgrade and race contract will be paid for.

Ecclestone has emphatically denied that, if Donington isn’t ready, F1 could return to Silverstone in 2010. But as well as suggesting the British Grand Prix could skip a year in 2010 while Donington gets ready, he has also indicated that a return to Silverstone could happen after all.

Silverstone, meanwhile, has bagged Donington’s Moto GP race for 2010 and is planning revisions to its layout to accommodate the bikes. But rumours suggest other F1-friendly developments are in the pipeline too. Among the most radical suggestions are that Ecclestone could buy the circuit.

German Grand Prix

The German Grand Prix is supposed to rotate between the Nurburgring (this year’s host) and the Hockenheimring (next year’s).

However in December the Badem-W?â??rttemberg government said it would no longer provide financial support to the race which was believed to have lost ?óÔÇÜ?¼6m (?é?ú5.1m/$8.6m) last year.

The two circuits had begun sharing the event since the retirement of Michael Schumacher has seen a significant fall in race attendance – despite five of F1’s 20 drivers having German nationality. The Nurburgring round receives government support estimated at $15m per year in 2007.

Japanese Grand Prix

The Japanese Grand Prix is also operating a rotation system, between Honda-owned Suzuka and Toyota-owned Fuji.

However earlier this week it emerged that the organisers of the Fuji race are considering dropping the event after just two runnings at the modernised venue in 2007 and 2008.

South Korean Grand Prix

The South Korean Grand Prix is expected to be the major new addition to the 2010 F1 calendar.

The 5.4km Jeonnam Circuit was designed by (prepare to feign surprise) Hermann Tilke and is located in the south-west of the country.

The addition of a new round to the calendar doesn’t necessarily mean another event has to be dropped. This year’s calendar was cut from 18 to 17 rounds following the last-minute dropping of the French Grand Prix.

Recently dropped races

Several races that have fallen off the calendar in recent years have expressed a desire to return.

France’s Prime Minister Francois Fillon has stated a desire to return the French Grand Prix to the F1 calendar in 2010. It is absent from the world championship calendar this year for the first time since its cancellation in 1955 following the Le Mans disaster.

However there are several obstacles hindering the hopes for a race at the proposed Flins-Mureux track (which, unusually, has not been designed by Hermann Tilke). The President of the Conseil General of the Yvelines departement Pierre Bedier, a key supporter of the race, has had to stand down from his position after losing an appeal against a corruption charge. And residents near the proposed site of the Flins track have raised many objections.

However there has been little talk of a potential return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the United States Grand Prix. There have recently been rumours that speedway boss Tony George, who arranged the 2000-2007 races with Bernie Ecclestone, was to be dismissed from the circuit, but this failed to materialise. He is likely preoccupied with the affect of the recession on his circuit and the Indy Racing League.

The 2011 and 2012 F1 calendars

The Indian Grand Prix, which was originally planned for 2010, is now aiming to be on the F1 calendar in 2011. Ecclestone told the BBC in January:

Of course we will deliver… otherwise we wouldn’t have entered into an agreement. [India is] a large, large country with a big population and it’s good for the sponsors, car manufacturers and everyone involved in Formula 1.

The Turkish Grand Prix’s contract is up for renewal after the 2011 race. Many circuits are suffering poor attendance at F1 races at the moment but the Istanbul Park circuit’s shortage seemed particularly acute last year. Keep an eye on those stands this weekend.

75 comments on The state of the 2010 F1 calendar

So a new question is, why are we the Fans bothering to pay such silly amounts for a seat (if you can afford a seat) in a poor position of a circuit, with bad facilites and miles away from either a loudspeaker or a big screen (unless you can afford Bernie’s Kangaroo).
In football (soccer), the Fans have got together and made various clubs sort out prices and accommodation. Although I think soccer is another sport where silly money prevails over the actual game.
Unfortunately, I think the only way we the Fans could make our presence felt is by NOT paying to watch the races(and not watching on TV either), and effectively boycotting them, so Bernie and CVC don’t get any revenue at all. However, that is unfair on the people who run the circuits and the drivers and teams too.
We the Fans appear to be in a no-win situation as far as the future of the sport is concerned, all the time Bernie can get B and C List celebs and other rich people to attend places like Monaco and Bahrain.
I do feel that like soccer and other sports, the Fans should have a voice, but what can we do to make ourselves heard?

It diesn’t really matter if it does, the race isn’t going to happen. Follow the link on the article about the “official pictures” and they’re nothing but artist’s conceptual drawings. Then look at an actual picture

To be honest I have never liked the new style Nurburgring and Hockenheimring circuits. I never was a fan of the Hungarian round and didn’t like Magny Cours. The one circuit I miss is Montreal.
As for Silverstone and Donington Park, I would drop both and have the race at Brands Hatch. A US gp would be good at say Leguna Seca of even the Glen. A new South American round would be nice, a return to Mexico for instance to rival Brazil.
The South Korean round is ok by me, as long as we get a half decent show. Atleast give fresh audiences a chance to get the F1 bug in the flesh.

They build these racetracks in places where no one has the money to buy a ticket to go to the race. Bernie has to know that the promoters money is not gonna keep these races going for very long. They sound like good ideas but they always fail. F1 needs to stay in europe.